Stereotyping around Teenage Mental Health

Word Count this will need to be included for your essay, up to a maximum of 2500

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Context page

Introduction.......................................................................................... 3

Background Information …………………………………………………. 3

Stereotyping of the chosen group………………………. 4

The Impact of Stereotyping…………………………. 6

Strategies to promote inclusivity........................................................... 7

Reference list ...................................................................................... 9

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Introduction

This essay will be looking at given stereotypes to a specific group. The client group

that will be discussed is teenagers suffering with mental health issues. The essay will

be discussing what mental health is, the stigma that it brings, the stereotypes

associated with it and the influences the stereotypes may have on care. In order to

fully grasp the concept of a particular mental health disorder and to be able to

understand the stereotypes that come with it the essay will focus more in depth on

one particular mental health illness, depression.

Background Information

The World Health Organisation (WHO, 2018) states that Mental health is an

essential part of health, it can be determined by a number of different factors such as

socioeconomic, environmental, and biological. Recent research from the National

Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2011) states that depression, anxiety

disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress

disorder are few of the most common mental health problems. Mental health

problems are also commonly known as mental illnesses.

Those that have poor mental health often suffer from a mental illness, (NICE, 2011)

uses a scale of mild, moderate and severe to measure the severity of the illness. A

person with a mild mental illness may have a smaller number of symptoms which

have a limited effect on their daily life (NICE, 2011). Those suffering with a moderate

mental illness will have more symptoms that make their daily life much more difficult

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and those with a severe illness has many more symptoms which will make their life

very difficult (NICE, 2011).

(WHO, 2019) states that around 1 in 5 children and young adults have a mental health

illness and that half of these begin around the age of just 14. Those that suffer from

a mental health illness can sometimes lead to suicide, which is the leading cause of

death in adolescents aged between 15 and 19 (WHO, 2019).

Depression is a mental health illness which is caused by negative thoughts and

feelings that a person may have towards themselves and/or their life, often those

that suffer with depression may also suffer with anxiety (WHO, 2019). The causes for

depression are not fully known. It is proven that teenagers that have family

difficulties, suffer from loss or bereavement, bullying or physical, emotional or sexual

abuse are more likely to have depression (Hellman, 2018). The chemical affects that

drugs and alcohol also have on the brain may bring on depression in a teenager if

they abuse the use of drugs and drink excessive amounts of alcohol. (Hellman,

2018)

Stereotyping of the chosen group

A stereotype is often negative and can be a fixed general image or set of

characteristics that people tend to believe represent a particular group of people

(Poschmann, 2003). Stereotypes are mostly inaccurate and negative, that allow

people to treat the group unfairly based on the stereotype (Poschmann, 2003).

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Stereotypes around teenage mental health are common, they are one of the most

stigmatised groups amongst society (Stuart, 2008). Parents of teenagers with

depression will often not recognise it and often feel like their behaviours are just

‘typical of a teenager’ (Rabin, 2008). Teenagers are typically believed to be ‘difficult’;

people often stereotype teenagers that suffer with mental health problems as

‘moody’, ‘reckless’, ‘emotional’ and ‘rude’ (Rabin, 2008). These stereotypes often

come from those who do not understand the person or their mental health.

A particularly damaging stereotype of a teenager suffering with mental health is

implying that they are ‘lying’ or ‘attention seeking’, this is often not the case with

those suffering from mental health (Damico, 2017). More stereotypes found by

Damico (2017) were ‘teenage girls are irrational and cry frequently’ and ‘teens are

over dramatic most of the time’, both these stereotypes show that people that believe

them are not taking teenagers and their mental health seriously, which can impact

their already delicate mental health negatively. The Mental Health Foundation (2020)

states that people believe those with a mental illness are violent or dangerous, this

has a negative impact on those with a mental illness as people tend to avoid them,

making them feel alone and unable to speak up and ask for help.

The Impact of Stereotyping

Stereotypes can have a negative impact on a person’s quality of life. Those that

already suffer with a mental health illness will hear the common stereotypes often.

When someone hears a constant negative stereotype about themselves, they can

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start believing what people are saying, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy (Damico,

2017). This can damage a teenager as they may withhold themselves from receiving

help if they begin to believe that they are not suffering from mental health and they

are just being ‘over dramatic’ or ‘emotional’ (Damico, 2017).

Those suffering with a mental health illness often already have low self-esteem and

negative feelings about themselves if stereotypes are negative this can further

impact their lives by giving them further negative thoughts about themselves (Mental

Health Foundation, 2020). Many of their mental problems are enhanced and made

worse by discrimination that is from not only society but also family and friends, this

can mean they find it difficult to find work, have long term relationships and be

socially included in society (Mental Health Foundation, 2020).

Stereotypes can start to give a person a ‘voice of self-doubt’ in which the person

starts to believe they cannot do something based on the stereotype given to them,

this can start to have damaging effects on a person’s thoughts and feelings towards

themselves (Zawisza, 2018). Another negative impact could be the threat of

stereotypes preventing someone from seeking help for their mental illness based on

the fear of receiving a negative stereotype and becoming part of a particular group

(Zawisza, 2018).

Strategies to promote inclusivity

Stereotypes can also impact care a person may receive from different health care

providers. Professionals may already have stereotypes, which could be based on

their own personal experiences (Aronson, et al., 2003 ). Interactions with a health

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care provider and a patient suffering from mental health can be impacted by

stereotypes, some health care professionals may hold a stigma towards a group

unconsciously or unintentionally (Aronson, et al., 2003 ). However, this can still affect

the care that they give and the care a patient receives. Mental health patients may

feel judged by a healthcare professional if they feel the care they are receiving differs

from the care given to others, this may lead them to mistrust the professionals

leading them to withdraw from care, further negatively impacting on their mental

health (Ferguson, 2015 ). Ferguson (2015) states that patients that have their care

implemented negatively are less likely to seek overall healthcare, whether that be

relating to their mental health or not. This shows that a person holistic care can be

negatively impacted, even if the stereotype is just based on their mental health.

Mental illness related stigma can cause many barriers relating to healthcare in

relation to accessing healthcare and receiving quality care. (Knaak, et al., 2017)

Stereotypes can make a patient feel devalued, as though they are not worthy of

healthcare and dismissed, as though they are less deserving of care if it does not

relate to their physical health (Knaak, et al., 2017).

In order to promote inclusivity for those suffering with mental health strategies need

to be put in place. Inclusion aims to reduce discrimination irrespective of their

gender, age, race, disability or other medical need, it is about offering everyone the

same level of care and resources and removing barriers (inclusion.me ltd, 2008).

Policies and the way they are implemented can promote inclusion. The Equality Act

(2010) ensures health care professionals, this means that those suffering from

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mental health illnesses are protected and if they are discriminated against then the

healthcare professional would be liable for their actions (Hebble, 2010).

The Mental Health Act (1983) is a piece of legislation also followed by healthcare

professionals it aims to empower patients and encourage them to be involved in their

care and make decisions regarding it as well as ensuring patients suffering with a

mental health illness are treated with respect and dignity (Clark, 2018). This ensures

inclusion as it guides healthcare professionals on the rights that their mental health

patients have and how they should ensure they are being met.

Charities can also promote inclusion, not just within a healthcare setting but within

society. Mind is a charity that promotes mental health and recognises the struggle for

those with a mental illness and the stigma that comes with it (MIND, 2018). Mind is

easily accessible to anyone; the charity uses a webpage as well as leaflets and other

methods of advertisements to explain to people what mental health is and the ways

in which exclusivity can be promoted (MIND, 2018) On the website Mind produces

articles on the legal rights of those suffering with a mental illness, this helps to

ensure everyone can recognise these rights and ensures they are being met. Mind

(2018) also provides an article on the way others may help those suffering, it states

that society can help those with depression by encouraging them to get help and be

open to talking about depression. This charity helps to normalise the idea of a mental

health illness to those who do not understand it.

Reflection on self-awareness and resilience has been removed, in case identification of the
student could be made through the content

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Conclusion

In conclusion, stereotypes are found to have a significant negative impact on those

suffering with a mental illness. In using legislation and policies inclusion can be

promoted and healthcare professionals can understand why discrimination and

stereotypes must be avoided in order to maintain quality care.

References
Aronson, J., Burgess, D., Phelan, S. M. & Juarez, L., 2003 . Unhealthy Interactions: The Role of

Stereotype Threat in Health Disparities. Am J Public Health, pp. 50-56 .

Clark, O., 2018. Reading of Rights. [Online]

Available at: https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/Documents/Disclosure%20log%20-%20FOI/October

%202019/F20284A%20Reading%20Of%20Rights%20S132-132A-133%20Policy%20-%20V2.1.pdf

[Accessed 2 February 2020].

Damico, P., 2017. How Stereotyping Your Teen Can Be Damaging. [Online]

Available at: https://paradigmmalibu.com/stereotyping-teen-damaging/

[Accessed 19 March 2020].

Ferguson, D., 2015 . Healthcare stereotyping can negatively affect patient outcomes. [Online]

Available at: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/healthcare-stereotyping-can-negatively-

affect-patient-outcomes

[Accessed 11 March 2020].

Hebble, B., 2010. The New Single Equality Act in Britain. The Equal Rights Review , Volume 5, pp. 11-

21.

Hellman, M., 2018. Social Causes of Depression, Anxiety and Stress. 35(June 1, 2018), pp. 149-151.

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inclusion.me ltd, 2008. What does inclusion mean?. [Online]

Available at: https://www.inclusion.me.uk/news/what_does_inclusion_mean

[Accessed 1 April 2020].

Knaak, S., Mantler, E. & Szeto, A., 2017. Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare. Healthc Manage

Forum. , pp. 111-116.

Mental Health Foundation, 2020. Stigma and discrimination. [Online]

Available at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/s/stigma-and-discrimination

[Accessed 1 March 2020].

MIND, 2018. What is diversity and difference?. [Online]

Available at: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/influence-and-participation-toolkit/how/

planning/diversity-and-difference/

[Accessed 10 March 2020].

The National Insitute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2011. Common mental health problems.

[Online]

Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg123/ifp/chapter/Common-mental-health-

problems

[Accessed 30 March 2020].

Poschmann, M., 2003. Stereotypes. In: P. Hanks, ed. Collins Dictionary . s.l.:HarperCollins.

Rabin, R. C., 2008. Your brooding teen: Just moody or mentally ill?. [Online]

Available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/28004005/ns/health-childrens_health/t/your-brooding-

teen-just-moody-or-mentally-ill/%23.Xk5GkcPFJaR#.Xq_xN8hKjIU

[Accessed 20 March 2020].

Stuart, H., 2008. World Psychiatry.. Fighting the stigma caused by mental disorders: past

perspectives, present activities, and future directions, pp. 185-188.

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WHO, 2018. Mental health: strengthening our response. [Online]

Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-

response

[Accessed 11 Janruary 2020].

WHO, 2019. Mental Health. [Online]

Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/mental-health

[Accessed 28 February 2020].

Zawisza, M., 2018. The terrifying power of stereotypes – and how to deal with them. [Online]

Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-terrifying-power-of-stereotypes-and-how-to-deal-

with-them-101904

[Accessed 26 February 2020].

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